165 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 165
==========
My adoptive father's trading began in the early dawn. I was barely dressed, having been woken up by Blan, who knocked on my door before sunrise.
I forced my heavy eyelids open and went downstairs to see Mother, carefully walking with her large belly, and Roena, whose beauty was still radiant despite her lack of sleep.
The butler, as well as all the maids and servants residing in the mansion, were summoned from their sleep to see off the head of the household's trading trip.
"Please be careful on your trip."
Mother said carefully, placing her hand on her swollen belly. Everyone knew that the words 'even for our baby' were hidden in her following words.
My adoptive father smiled and said he understood. He added that he would visit the temple to make a donation and receive a blessing before leaving, so there was no need to worry.
"Please come back safe."
Roena said, clasping her hands tightly. Her face was overflowing with gratitude and apology to her father for having to take a ship so early because of her.
Rumor had it that she had been quite insistent that it had to be that item - unlike Roena - but now that things had turned out this way, she seemed quite uneasy.
My adoptive father told Roena not to worry. Then he turned his head and looked at me. What flowed from his parted lips was absolution disguised as kindness.
"Are you really alright?"
It was at times like these that I thought my adoptive father was an aristocrat after all. He knew that I had no choice but to refuse, yet he was openly asking in front of everyone. It was to create the justification that he had tried to help, but I had refused, so he couldn't do anything about it.
"I'm really alright."
He didn't urge me twice. This was enough. My adoptive father's gaze turned back to Mother.
"I will write when I arrive. Don't move around too much."
"Yes."
My adoptive father looked at Mother, Roena, and me once, then got into the carriage. And he left for the city where the Bishvarts Family owned a ship.
The family members, who had been standing blankly until the carriage disappeared into the distance, began to disappear one by one as dawn began to break.
Mother said she needed to sleep more and returned to her room with the help of a maid. I was also about to return to my room, thinking I should get some more sleep. But Roena quickly approached and grabbed my hand.
"Are you… not angry?"
What flowed from her mouth was a question I couldn't understand.
"Angry about what?"
"That I didn't come to find you."
"Ah… I did go to find you."
As I reacted as if I was just remembering, Roena sighed in relief. Her face, as she quietly muttered, 'You're not angry,' held a small joy.
"I was going to go find you, but Margo stopped me, saying you were busy."
"I was busy?"
"Yes."
It wasn't that Roena had changed, but that Margo had stopped her. I had wanted her to do nothing without Margo, like a marionette on a string, but now that things had turned out this way, Roena was so pathetic that I couldn't help but sigh.
She was so much more listless than before, when she had gradually begun to express her own opinions even while being bullied by me.
No, even when I first met Roena after returning, she had shone more brightly and spoken her mind without filtering it.
But she had become such a mess in the past year. No, she had been gradually deteriorating without me even noticing.
"Ah, right. I was busy."
I echoed her words softly, watching her expression. Then the small guilt that had been etched in her eyes disappeared. I continued to speak as if I hadn't noticed.
"This trading trip is to get your gift, right?"
"Yes."
"I heard it's very difficult to get, how did you find out?"
"Pulcher told me."
"Pulcher?"
It's the Empress again. An uncomfortable feeling, like a thorn stuck under my fingernail, kept rising. Somehow, my mouth felt dry and parched.
"What is it that Pulcher would tell you directly?"
At my question, Roena's complexion hardened as if she was in trouble. Her attitude of clouding her complexion as if she was sorry was strangely cautious.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. I promised not to tell anyone but Father."
"Really? It must be something amazing?"
"Yes."
"But she gave up that precious thing to you instead of giving it directly to His Highness the Crown Prince? Amazing. Pulcher must really care about you."
At my words, Roena's cheeks flushed red. She put her hands on both cheeks as if trying to hide her shyness and smiled bashfully. Her hair danced elegantly over her slightly twisted shoulders, as if she was happy to death.
"You know, I adore His Highness the Crown Prince. So she gave it up for me."
"Really? That's truly an honorable thing. Does your father know how you feel?"
"Yes. That's why he went on this trading trip."
"I heard he was very worried at first… I heard the road to the place where he buys that thing is very dangerous. There are many treacherous waters, too."
"That's why I'm going to go to the temple every day to pray until Father comes back. Will you come with me, Sissae?"
If I said no here, I would be the worst woman in the world. I don't know if she knew it or if she was really leading me without knowing it, but Roena's technique was very clever.
To ask me to pray for the safety of the man who tried to crush my pride for his daughter, what an absurd thing to say. But for the sake of Mother and the baby in her womb, my adoptive father needed to return safely.
"Okay."
Roena was very happy at my answer. Her voice, chattering incessantly about what time she would visit the temple regularly every day, even had a slight excitement.
I let those words flow over my ears and nodded indifferently.
Is the Empress really planning to make Roena the Crown Princess? I don't know why the prophecy 'Beware the Moon' comes to mind at that moment.
A son who thinks more of his friend than his mother. And a mother who is anxious because she can't get a woman to stick to such a son.
Something was creaking. Something unknown was giving off a very foul smell, and was gaping its dirty jaws.
I felt a chill for some reason, so I ran my hands down my arms and said, 'I should go into my room and rest.'
Adding that I would leave going to the temple entirely up to her, so she could do as she pleased.
And when I quickly moved my steps and returned to my room, I found a letter lying quietly on the side table next to the bed. There was not even a sign of who sent it.
I slowly walked over and sat on the bed, stopped Blan, who was about to come into the room, saying she would take off my dress, and carefully picked up the letter.
Without using a paper knife, I tore the letter open with my hands, and only one sentence hastily scribbled was engraved on it.
『Who is the true master that the Bishvarts Family's sword serves?』
For a moment, I felt breathless. It was too clear what the sentence contained to be a bad joke, so I couldn't take my eyes off it.
The Crown Prince's birthday, my adoptive father's trading trip, and Lustewin Halberd.
It must not be a coincidence that these suddenly came to my mind. Things that seemed to have nothing to do with each other suddenly surfaced and were chasing each other's tails, so it was suspicious enough.
At the same time, I remembered what happened when my adoptive father died. He died in a storm while traveling by ship back then, too.
"But there was more time left… The things I knew were changing. Could it be…"
For a moment, I tried to recall where my adoptive father had gone on a trading trip in my previous life, but nothing came to mind. It was because I wasn't interested.
So I had been vaguely glossing over it, thinking about the day he died…
"It can't be. It can't be yet. The baby in her womb hasn't even come out yet. I don't even know the gender. There's no way they'll protect the child of a widow."
What on earth is about to happen? I shoved the letter into the drawer and ran outside. And I went to the butler and asked him.
"Is this voyage very dangerous?"
The old butler let out a soft sigh, as if he could guess why I was asking such a thing. Perhaps he thought it was the impatience of a daughter worried about her adoptive father, his voice was softer than usual.
"Most of the people accompanying him are experienced sailors who have lived on the sea for more than ten years, so you don't have to worry. The Count has also been on these trading trips more than once or twice."
"…You don't have to worry?"
"Yes. Please believe it."
My adoptive father in my previous life was also an experienced merchant. He must have traveled the waterways dozens of times, buying and selling goods. There was no one among the nobles of the empire who knew the waterways better than him.
But he died. The sudden bad news that came one day was delivered so naturally, as if it was a matter of course, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
No one expected him to die not from a pirate attack, but from being swept away by a rough storm and hitting a reef.
"But it's a waterway with many reefs…"
"I'll bring you a warm cup of tea, miss. If you drink it and take a nap, you'll feel better."
"He'll come back safe, right?"
At my words, the butler smiled and said he would. It was an unbelievable answer, but I couldn't say anything more, so I nodded obediently.
Yes, it's not time to die yet. No, it has to be. Even if he dies later, it wasn't now.
"Thank you for saying that."
"You're welcome. If the Count, who has returned, hears that you were so worried, he will be very happy."
"Yes. I hope so. Be sure to send the tea I mentioned earlier to my room. I'm going to drink it and sleep."
"Please rest well."
I staggered, clutching my head. I woke up too early and my head wasn't working.
So if I just calm down and rest, I'll be fine. And the sudden feeling of anxiety, too.
So I drank the tea that the butler sent me in one gulp and immediately crawled into bed to sleep. I was planning to oversleep until after lunch if possible.
But who sent that letter and how?
I usually sleep soundly without dreaming. So I only dream when I'm not feeling well, or when I'm mentally and physically weak and under stress.
That's why I often realized that I was dreaming even in my dreams, and sometimes I even watched the dreams I was having indifferently, as if a third party was watching.
This dream also gave me a strange feeling that made me realize that I was dreaming. The form of walking on footprints in an endless darkness felt somehow familiar.
But there was a slight difference. The road was divided into branches, forcing me to choose.
And when I chose one road and walked, there was someone going up to the terrace on the opposite side, as if they had walked the road like me.
The terrace that should have been on my side was on the opposite side… I turned my eyes and looked at who was going up to the terrace. The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, so it seemed like it would be difficult to see, but once I got used to it, it wasn't difficult to see things.
The person who went up to the terrace had brilliant blonde hair. Her small, beautiful face and pale, shining skin were the same as someone I knew.
The person standing barefoot and precariously supporting herself, the girl standing so precariously as if she was about to fall, was…
"Huh."
When I opened my eyes wide, a shadow awkwardly stretched out its hand and took a sharp breath.
As my vision was blurry, I repeated the act of closing and opening my eyes several times, and the surroundings gradually came into view. Marie, who had been holding up her hand as if to wake me up, too.
"Give me water."
Did I sleep too long? My throat was parched and dry. Marie poured water from the water jug on the side table with a calm attitude, as if she hadn't been surprised. I felt like I was going to live after drinking the slightly lukewarm water.
"Were you trying to wake me up?"
"Yes. You skipped lunch. And Miss Roena asked me to wake you up, saying you had made a promise to go to the temple. But why are you sweating so much?"
Did I have a nightmare? Even though I just woke up, I don't remember what dream I had.
I just had an unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling, so I guessed that I had a bad dream, but I didn't feel refreshed at all. I felt like I saw something important at the end…
"Miss?"
"No. Lunch is done, prepare me to wash. I have to go to the temple."
"Yes."
I finished drinking the remaining water in the cup and ran my hand through my sweaty hair. My mood was strangely low. It was a different feeling from worrying that my adoptive father would die.
